Columnist Jeff German: Herrera looking at a deal

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2003 | 11:20 a.m.

People will have a hard time feeling sorry for former County Commissioner Dario Herrera if it turns out that he was corrupted by strip club operator Michael Galardi.

The voters have never tolerated elected officials who put their offices up for sale.

And yet, as we hear once more that federal indictments are imminent in the FBI's political corruption investigation, I don't envy the life-altering decision Herrera and his family are facing.

With his wife, Emily, expecting a second child any day now, Herrera has been contemplating a deal with the government that will allow him to plead guilty in the corruption probe and move forward with his life.

The deal, I'm told, calls for Herrera to spend between one and two years in prison, which would be less time behind bars than if he went to trial and was convicted.

But it also would bring additional public shame to this one-time Democratic Party golden boy. Pleading guilty, you see, would be an admission that Herrera let down the voters, which is the worst legacy any former elected official could want.

It may be the future of a man who only a year ago, at the age of 29, chaired the County Commission, one of the most powerful positions in local government, and was the Democratic favorite in the race for Nevada's new 3rd Congressional District.

Officially, Herrera has denied any wrongdoing and has insisted to friends that he didn't take bribes from Galardi.

But because the federal grand jury proceedings in this case have been shrouded in secrecy, we have yet to hear the government formally weigh in on Herrera's guilt or innocence.

And so we know very little about the circumstances, apparently captured on still-secret FBI wiretaps, that led to Herrera's current predicament.

We do know, however, that prosecutors are lining up witnesses against him, the latest being Galardi, who has reportedly struck a deal to cooperate in the investigation.

We also know that, through his own lapses in judgment, Herrera has thrown away a political career that had tremendous potential. He has disappointed the likes of three-term Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic patriarch who personally groomed Herrera for political stardom.

Today, the biggest thing on Herrera's mind should be buying baby clothes and contemplating spending time with the child on the way. Instead, he finds himself dealing with lawyers and preoccupied with avoiding lengthy prison time that will keep him away from that child.

And so Herrera is leaning toward striking an agreement with prosecutors.

His decision could come very soon, possibly this week.

I'm told he has struggled with the decision over the last several days, at times insisting that he wanted to fight it out in court. But he also knows that, in a criminal case with wiretaps and a growing list of witnesses, that could be a risky endeavor.

His best option may be cutting the best deal for himself and his family -- and acknowledging that he let down the voters.